Special kind of double
by Mibamonster
Summary: "A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves - a special kind of double. " Series of oneshots about the relationship between Lily and Petunia.


On a Saturday morning in June, while the Evans family was having breakfast, someone knocked on the door.

Mr and Mrs Evans looked up from the cryptogram they were doing. 'Tuney, will you get the door?'

'Can't Lily do it?' Petunia asked. 'I'm eating.'

'Petunia,' her father said sternly, focusing on the crypto again. Petunia rolled her eyes, but she did get up and went to open the door. Since she was not expecting anything other than a neighbour or maybe the mailman, she was not prepared for the woman who was standing on their doorstep. Petunia did not know what about this woman was the weirdest: the bright pink trousers, the hat with a dead bird on it, or the navy tie that was tucked inside a pyjama top. On the ground next to her was an old-fashioned briefcase covered in words Petunia didn't recognise.

'Um, hello.' Petunia took a step back and glanced over her shoulder, but her parents were still in the living room. Assuming the woman was simply lost, she asked, 'Can I help you with anything?'

The woman nodded enthusiastically. 'I should hope so, yes. This is the Evans home, right?'

'Yes…' Petunia forced her lips into a polite smile. 'Should I call my mum?'

'If you would – oh, never mind, there she is!' Picking up her suitcase, the woman stepped inside and held out her hand to Petunia's mother, who seemed just as taken aback by the stranger's ensemble as her daughter had been.

'Mrs Evans, it is a pleasure to meet you,' the woman said. 'My name is Gemma d'Arcy, I'm here to speak to you about your daughter, Lily Evans? Is she at home?'

While she closed the door, Petunia reflected on how typical it was for Lily to be connected to those weird people. 'First that Snape boy, and now this nut… ter…' she muttered to herself, just as it hit her. What is this woman was like Lily and that Snape boy? What if she was a witch, too? She did not look like one, but then, Lily didn't either…

'Excuse me,' she said, hurrying up to Gemma d'Arcy. 'Are you a witch?'

'Petunia!' Her mother turned a bright red. 'You can't just ask someone if she's a witch. I'm really sorry,' she added to Gemma D'Arcy, who just smiled and followed Mrs Evans into the living room.

'There's nothing wrong with being a witch. I actually quite enjoy my magic,' Gemma d'Arcy said, in a tone as casual as if she were discussing the weather. When she spotted Lily and her father sitting at the dining table, she put down her briefcase and extended her hand to Lily. 'You must be Lily Evans, am I right?'

Lily shot a nervous glance at their mother before she accepted Gemma d'Arcy's hand. 'Yes, ma'am, I am.'

'It is lovely to meet you. I'm Gemma, from the Ministry for Magic. I've come here to tell you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, starting this September.' Still shaking Lily's hand, Gemma looked from Mrs to Mr Evans. 'I do not know if your daughter has ever told you this, but she's a witch.'

'I think she forgot to mention that,' Mr Evans said. He sounded confused, but intrigued as well.

Mrs Evans moved closer to the table. 'Lily, is this for a play?'

Suddenly, Lily found all eyes were on her and she focused her gaze on the table. 'Not really.'

'Then what is - '

'Lily can do magic,' Petunia blurted out. Everybody snapped their heads to look at her, and now Petunia was the one who squirmed under the attention. 'It's true! She could make flowers blossom and make the swing set move even if she's not on it and… and stuff.'

'Tuney, you are behaving very oddly today,' Mr Evans said.

'Oh, but Mister Evans, Petunia is right.' Gemma opened her briefcase and pulled out some pieces of what Petunia first thought was really thick paper. Only when Gemma handed them to Mrs Evans did Petunia realize it was parchment.

'William,' Mrs Evans said sharply, her eyes scanning the document. 'Come read this.'

While her father got up and read the letter over his wife's shoulder, Lily turned to Gemma. 'So I can really go to Hogwarts? I mean, I can really go?'

'Yes, yes, of course. So you've already heard of Hogwarts?' Gemma said, rummaging through the pile of letters until she pulled out an envelope which she handed to Lily. 'That's your official letter, dear. Tell me, how did you hear about it?'

'There's this boy, Sev, and he's a Wizard. He told me. I just still thought…' Her eyes shining with excitement, Lily opened the letter. The further down she got, the broader her grin became. 'Wow. It is real. I mean…' She clasped a hand in front of her mouth and looked up at Petunia. 'Tuney, it's really real!'

'I noticed.'

'But Lily,' Mr Evans said, frowning, 'I don't understand. How can you do magic? You know that only happens in fairy tales.'

Gemma opened her mouth, but Lily was ahead of her. 'No, but Daddy, look.' She held up two fingers and straightened up. 'Look, Daddy.' Nervously, she placed her hands on her lap and stared at the cutlery on the table. For a moment, nothing was happening, and then the knife and fork Mr Evans had left were lifted up in the air and started cutting his tomatoes. Lily beamed. 'See, Dad?'

'Of course, once she has her wand, she will be able to perform more complex spells, and at Hogwarts they will teach her to control her magic,' said Gemma, although Petunia wasn't sure if her parents were listening; they were still staring at the moving cutlery.

'Sev said I'm not allowed to use magic outside of school, not now that I've got my letter and all.' The cutlery fell and clattered on Mr Evans's plate when Lily started talking. 'So I guess I shouldn't do this anymore now?'

'Sev?' Mrs Evans said. 'You mean Severus knows about this?'

Lily nodded. 'Yes, he's the one who told me I was a witch. He knows loads about the magical world – his mum's a witch, too.'

Mr Evans pinched the bridge of his nose. 'You mean to tell us that Severus is a Wizard, Lily?'

'Yes, exactly!'

'I feel like I should thank this Severus,' said Gemma. 'He does make this visit a lot easier. And this means you'll already have a friend when you go to Hogwarts. Now, there are some things you'll probably still need help with; going to Diagon Alley, for instance… '

Petunia didn't catch the rest of what Gemma was saying; all her attention was focused on the letter Lily was still holding loosely. Petunia reached out and Lily briefly averted her eyes from Gemma to smile at Petunia and hand her the letter.

_Thanks_, Petunia mouthed. Then she had a look at the parchment and, more importantly, what it said. The beautiful, curly handwriting was difficult to decipher, but the first words were unmistakeable: _Dear Miss Evans_.

Petunia read the letter over and over again while her parents were asking Gemma about Hogwarts and the magical world and Lily proudly told them the things she already knew. Petunia tried to drown it all out. _Dear Miss Evans_ – that could be her. There could be another letter out there, _exactly _like this one, and it would be for her. Maybe this letter _was _for her and there'd just been a tiny mistake made at Hogwarts…

Suddenly, she noticed Gemma getting up and shaking hands with her parents.

'If you need any more help, you can always owl me,' Gemma was saying. 'And I will of course see you again in two weeks to get school supplies.' She turned to Lily and this time when she held out her hand, Lily did not hesitate to take it. 'Lily, I'm so glad to welcome you into our world. I'm sure you'll make a splendid witch.'

'Thank you. I'll try.' Lily was giddy with excitement as she turned to her father and continued some story about some diagonal street. Meanwhile, Mrs Evans was showing Gemma out and assuring her that if she wanted to come for tea, she was welcome _anytime_. Still clutching the letter, Petunia stood in the middle of the living room and looked at the parchment.

Her mother reappeared in the doorway and clapped her hands, something Petunia had never seen her mother do. 'I cannot believe it. Lily, a real witch! It's absolutely impossible.'

'But then, that's never stopped our Lil, has it?' Mr Evans was glowing with pride. 'I always knew you were special, little pumpkin.'

'Dad. I'm a witch now,' Lily said sternly. 'You can't call me "little pumpkin" anymore, or I'll turn _you _into one.' She raised her eyebrows in warning, but her father just laughed.

It came to Petunia in a flash. 'Mum? I need to… go to the loo,' she said. Not waiting for her mother's reply, she hurried down the hallway and out of the door, praying that Gemma hadn't suddenly disappeared. When she spotted the witch walking down their little street, her heart sagged in relief and she started running. 'Gemma! Gemma, sorry, wait!'

Gemma swivelled around. 'Petunia, hello. Is something wrong? Do you have any more questions?'

As she skidded to a halt, Petunia realized that if any of the neighbours saw her talking to this woman, she'd be laughed at for months. Still, her question was more important than her reputation. 'No. Well, yes, actually. Um, I was wondering…' The words died in her throat. Could she really ask something like this?

'Yes, dear?'

'If maybe… Could it be that maybe there's a letter for me in there?' Petunia forced herself to face Gemma. 'I mean, the letter said _Miss Evans_, maybe it was meant for me?'

Gemma's ever-present smile faltered. 'No, dear, I'm afraid not.'

Even though she'd been expecting this answer, Petunia had to swallow before she could ask, 'Are you really, really sure? Maybe mine just got lost last year?'

'I'm sorry, but no, that didn't happen.' Gemma was silent for a moment. 'I'm really sorry, but I'm sure your sister will show you lots of things from the magical world. You can still be a part of it in your own way, really. You're just not magical yourself.'

'Okay. Yes. Of course.' _Not Miss Evans. Lily Evans_, she thought bitterly. 'Sorry to bother you. Have a nice day.'

As Gemma walked away, Petunia felt the little balloon of hope inside her deflate. So she wasn't a witch. She wasn't special, like Lily. _But I could still become special_, she thought, returning home. _And maybe then they _will_ let me into Hogwarts_.


End file.
